Why Unlikely Brand Collaborations Are Everywhere

Unexpected brand collaborations literally have fans covered head to toe in 2024, whether it's Lipton Ice Tea’s creamy yellow hat from its range with streetwear label Cruel Pancake or McDonald’s Hamburglar-themed Crocs. With the average American exposed to anywhere between 4,000 and 10,000 ads every day, it’s tough for brands to stand out. Enter weird brand partnerships, which can cut through the clutter and grab headlines. See: Dunkin’s Scrub Daddy sponge; Chipotle and Wonderskin’s Lipotle lip stain; NYX Professional Makeup and chef Gordon Ramsay’s cake recipe inspired by blush; e.l.f. Beauty and Liquid Death’s coffin-shaped Corpse Paint makeup kit; and Anya Hindmarch’s Heinz Baked Beans ice cream. Partnering with brands outside their sector “opens us up to a new arena of audiences,” explained Denée Pearson, global brand president at NYX Professional Makeup. “It is important for us to evolve with our community, so collaborating with all types of talent—from world-famous chefs and professional athletes to viral artists and creators—allows us to meet our community where they are and further build brand connection.” Collaborations span beauty, fashion and travel. Walking the line between relevance and obscurity Seventy-one percent of consumers say they enjoy co-branded partnerships, per B2B platform Visual Objects. But how are marketers measuring the material impact of these odd pairings? “We’ve found striking the balance between relevance and obscurity to be a success,” said David Wigglesworth, executive creative director at Grey London, who recently worked on a partnership between MAC Cosmetics and Lick, which saw the beauty giant and the DIY home décor startup create Black 40, a jet-noir paint hue that comes with a free limited-edition lipstick. “The collab needs to make a certain level of sense as well as [be] something that consumers would engage with, yet it’s also vital to provide a level of shock value,” he added. “Our process is quite simple: Does it feel right, and are we excited by it? Both MAC and Lick shared the same goal of wanting to push boundaries, yet exist in very different worlds.” He said brand awareness and sales were crucial in measuring impact, but creating a buzz through surprising partnerships was also a key KPI, with the ultimate goal of contributing to the bottom line. “That [conversation] is what allows flexibility for a brand to continue growing while entering new spaces consumers are excited about.” Getting Gen Z on board In addition to giving brands a chance to go viral or just spark conversation, collabs help brands widen their audience and drive sales in the process. Velveeta has found this through its "La Dolce Velveeta" platform, which has seen the brand co-create a scented nail polish with Nails Inc. and a cheesy martini with BLT Restaurant Group, among other activations. “Before the launch of La Dolce Velveeta, our core consumer did not include Gen Z and younger millennials," said Stephanie Vance, brand manager at Velveeta. “Through these collabs, we have seen an increase in household penetration among our younger consumers. We have reignited the brand and are no longer seen as ‘dusty,'” she added. Driving buzz and sales Meanwhile, Chipotle and Wonderskin’s lip stain launch generated 43 million impressions on Instagram and TikTok, and 1.1 billion earned media impressions—but crucially, it “helped increase visibility for Chipotle in Western Europe, where it is still considered an emerging brand,” said Stephanie Perdue, vice president of brand marketing at Chipotle. This is also true for designer brand Anya Hindmarch, which has been serving up madcap flavors of ice cream from its seasonal pop-up store The Ice Cream Project out of its upscale physical London space, The Village, for three years. The decision to serve up scoops of Sun-Pat peanut butter and Heinz ice cream to shoppers in the market for a handbag dovetailed with the return of its namesake founder in 2020. Since it launched The Ice Cream Project, the handbag designer’s losses have declined, with revenue increasing by over $5 million in the most recent calendar year ending in January 2023. E.l.f. Beauty is another brand whose sales have recently improved, which it has attributed partly to creative marketing tactics such as unexpected partnerships with the likes of Liquid Death and Chipotle. It has seen 22 consecutive quarters of market share gains and net sales growth, with sales rising 50% in the three months ending June 30. Its Liquid Death makeup collection sold out in 45 minutes, generated 12 billion impressions, and won a bronze Lion at the Cannes Lions festival. But more important than sales was the audience engagement. “The true measure of a successful collaboration is in the feedback that the community shares with us,” e.l.f. Beauty chief brand officer Laurie Lam said. “[Corpse Paint] is still leading conversations today for its creative excellence and culture-shifting marketing.”

Creative Convergence

Odd Couples: Why Unlikely Brand Collaborations Are Everywhere

Unpacking the true value of an unexpected pairing

Rebecca Stewart

Brittaney Kiefer

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Rebecca Stewart

Brittaney Kiefer